The rainfall was heavy. The darkened skies boomed and flashed with the sound of thunder and lightning strikes.
BZZZT — CRACK!
As the flashes of lightning streaked across the sky, the wind howled through the trees of the forest below.
In the heart of the forest, a middle-aged man was running. His movements were desperate and frantic; each step was a battle against the raging winds. He was wounded, clutching his bleeding chest with his right arm.
As he sprint desperately, his breath soon turned ragged, each gasp clawing at his throat. His knees buckled, trembling beneath him.
The world around him then blurred as his senses dulled, his once-steady strides faltering into an unsteady stagger. Every step felt heavier, his strength was slowly slipping away.
"N-NO!"
"I—I..."
"I—I cannot d-die here."
But then, a deafening whistling bullet suddenly sliced through the air.
SWWWWFFFFFPPPPT!
BAGHCKKK!
The sound lingered, echoing through the dense forest, its sharp, shrill edge carving through the silence. Then, a raspy voice followed, reverberating between the trees.
"Show yourself, you damned priest!"
The words struck like a whip, jolting the middle-aged man back to his senses. His breath hitched, panic surging through his veins.
With the last of his strength, he hurled himself toward the towering acacia tree, collapsing against its rough bark. His chest heaved as he struggled to catch his breath, but his gaze quickly dropped to his injury—a bullet wound, raw and pulsing with searing pain.
"Ghhkk!"
A wave of nausea hit him, but hesitation was a luxury he couldn't afford. Gritting his teeth, he pressed his index finger against the wound, steeling himself. Then, with a swift, brutal motion, he dug in.
"Ahkkk! Ghhkkkk!"
His body convulsed from the agony, sweat dripping down his face as he fought against his own screams.
"Aghhhh!!"
The pain was unbearable, his vision flickering at the edges. But what other choice does he have? If he couldn't pull out the bullet at any moment now, he will surely die in loss of blood.
As the bullet was finally dislodged, he crushed it into bits with trembling fingers. Almost immediately, his torn muscles began to mend, knitting themselves back together with unnatural speed.
A surge of heat coursed through his veins, his body radiating so intensely that raindrops sizzled into steam upon contact. His crimson eyes glowed, narrowing as he fixed his gaze on a shadowy figure emerging from the darkness ahead.
From the depths of the forest, the silhouette took form—a tall, wiry man stepping forward with an aura of unrelenting menace. His presence was suffocating, his every movement deliberate and deadly. Then, in a voice laced with contempt, he sneered,
"There you are, Priest."
The man was lean, yet his posture exuded predatory strength. Twin bolo blades gleamed in his grip, their edges whispering promises of bloodshed. His disheveled black hair spilled down one side of his face, cascading all the way to the forest floor. His monolid eyes burned with unhinged intensity, locking onto the priest like a hunter savoring his prey.
He raised a blade, pointing it at the priest's heart.
"I really thought you were just like your cowardly brothers."
Then, with a guttural cry, he unleashed his challenge.
"PRIEST!!"
"Make sure you're all in this time…"
"I will show you..."
"NO MERCY."
Dark smoke coiled around his twin blades, thick and writhing like cursed tendrils. A malicious grin split his face as he lunged forward, his laughter cutting through the storm.
"Here I come."
The priest stood his ground, radiating an unshakable calm. His lips moved in a whisper, an incantation slipping through the air.
"All glory... Sol... In your name, I declare..."
The steam around him swirled violently, spiraling in a hypnotic dance. Veins pulsed beneath his skin, branching from beneath his glowing eyes down his neck.
A star-shaped sigil ignited upon his forehead, its golden light pulsing with divine energy. His voice deepened, echoing through the shifting realm.
"Realm Manipulation…"
"Abyssal…"
"PEACE."
A deafening crack tore through reality.
BZZZZZZT—CRACK!
The world twisted, folding in on itself. The towering trees and thick undergrowth melted away, replaced by an infinite wasteland bathed under a blood-red moon.
Silence.
No life. No sound.
Only the endless crimson glow stretching across the barren horizon.
The slender man stilled, his face shifting from confusion to amusement. He tilted his head, gazing at the twisted sky with intrigue.
"A Realm Manipulation?" he murmured, almost to himself.
Then, his lips curled into something wild.
"KE—"
"KEK!"
"KYA HA!"
"KYAA HA HA HA HA HA YA HA HA HA HA KYAAKA HA HA!"
Laughter erupted from his throat, shrill and frenzied. His eyes gleamed with uncontainable excitement as he turned back to the priest.
"You're not a regular human, are you?" His voice was low, reverent. "You're a—"
Before he could finish, the priest vanished.
A blur of golden light.
Then—
BAM!
The priest reappeared in front of him, fist clenched and glowing with celestial power. His voice, now a divine decree, rang out.
"Omnipotent Fist Technique…"
"HOLY PUNCH!!"
The air ignited as his fist drove forward.
A shockwave exploded across the wasteland.
Yet—
Steel screeched against divine power.
The slender man had caught the strike, his twin blades crossed in a desperate block. Dust and energy spiraled around them as they remained locked in a clash of power.
The priest's eyes widened in disbelief.
The slender man grinned.
"That wasn't bad. But…" His voice dripped with arrogance. "Is that all?"
A crimson glow abruptly erupted behind the priest, with a fiery wing, spanning three feet wide, burst from his back, illuminating the desolate land in holy radiance.
His hair shimmered, each strand shifting into a golden hue. But the most striking change—the red stone now embedded in his forehead, glowing with divine intensity.
The slender man's smirk faltered.
In the depths of his mind, a chilling realization settled in.
'I was right. This priest… is no regular human.'
A heartbeat later, the priest moved.
BAM!
The slender man never saw it coming.
The impact sent him hurtling across the wasteland, his body skipping like a ragdoll before crashing violently into the cracked earth.
Darkness swam at the edges of his vision.
'Shitty half-humans…'
But there was no time to recover.
A streak of light closed in.
BAM!
A devastating uppercut sent him rocketing skyward.
The priest followed, his fiery wings propelling him upward at terrifying speed. Seizing the slender man midair, he twisted and—
BOOM!
Drove him into the earth.
The priest stood over his broken foe, his right hand raised. A sphere of radiant energy flickered into existence at his fingertip, crackling with celestial force.
TREMBLING!
But—
BANG!
A gunshot shattered the moment.
Pain.
Blinding.
Sudden.
A bullet struck the priest's back, sending him crashing to the ground.
He couldn't move.
Not a single muscle.
Not even his eyes.
'What… is this?'
As if reality itself had unraveled, the fabricated wasteland dissolved.
The crimson moon faded.
The trees and underbrush returned, the world resetting to its original state.
And then—
"YOHOOOOO!"
A playful, almost sing-song voice rang through the air.
A young woman stepped forward. Petite, blonde, exuding a boyish arrogance. She twirled a revolver on her finger, blowing away the smoke from its barrel before holstering it with a cocky grin.
She sauntered toward the slender man laying unconscious on the ground, humming a childish tune.
"Guess who's gonna die? Guess who's gonna die~?"
Stopping at his side, her expression darkened.
BLAGCHK!
A brutal kick to the face.
"Tch! IDIOT!" she snapped. "Wake up, you lame-ass bastard."
The slender man groaned, slowly rising, his wounds already mending. He let out a dry chuckle.
"Ke! My apologies, young master."
"Tch! Whatever!" she scoffed, dismissing him with a wave. Then, turning to the paralyzed priest, she squatted beside him.
With effort, she flipped his body over.
"S-So… heavy!" she huffed. But then, spotting something, her lips curled into a sinister smirk.
"There it is."
She then locked eyes with the slender man, her smirk widening as a glint of dark amusement flickered across her face.
Taking a slow step back, she raised a hand to her throat, dragging a single finger across her skin in a silent command.
The slender man understood instantly. Without a moment's hesitation, he stooped to retrieve his fallen bolo.
A moment later, a sharp whistle of steel cut through the air.
SWNGG
BAGCKKK!
For an instant, the world held its breath.
Then, like a grotesque fountain, blood erupted from the priest's severed neck, splattering the lifeless earth in deep crimson.
His head, once held high in defiance, tumbled free, rolling across the ground until it came to a stop—caught beneath the young woman's boot.
She tilted her head, studying the vacant expression frozen on his face. A slow, satisfied chuckle escaped her lips, the sound laced with both amusement and something far more sinister.
She then plucked the glowing red stone from the priest's forehead. Then, with a laugh, she bellowed at the sky—
"HEY SKY DADDY!"
More laughter.
Hysterical.
Mocking.
"GUESS WHAT?"
She then kicked the priest's severed head towards the large trunk of an acacia tree like a soccer ball, resulting in a gruesome explosion of flesh upon impact.
A wicked grin stretched across her face.
"I've got one of your warriors again."
THUNDER CRACKED.
She clutched the red stone, a tremor of power surging through her.
"Just a few more…" she whispered, eyes gleaming with dark delight.
Then, with a manic grin, she declared—
"The Dark King shall rise."
BZZZT—CRACK!
A bolt of lightning split the sky.